20 Ninja Gaiden

Dark Souls is often called the hardest game of them all, but Team Ninja could also lay claim to this title with its original Xbox exclusive Ninja Gaiden, a reimagining of the classic 8-bit action side-scroller in 3D. Ultra-violent and ultra-punishing for its time… and the enhanced Ninja Gaiden Black was a fine demonstration of how Xbox’s backward compatibility programme could bring back original titles looking almost like new releases. Xbox / 2004